Osteolysis is a medical condition involving dissolution of bone. Unfortunately, osteolysis often occurs in the bone adjacent to an orthopedic implant, such as a hip or knee implant. Osteolysis forms osteolytic lesions or voids in the bone. Osteolytic lesions are typically soft and spongy, and are unsupportive of orthopedic implants. An osteolytic lesion can cause a well-fixed implant to loosen. To treat osteolysis in the area of an implant, it is often necessary to conduct a revision surgery in which the old implant is removed, the lesion is cleaned out by debriding the local area, and then a larger revision implant is put in. To gain fixation, the revision implant requires substantial hardware to compensate for the significant bone loss.
Osteolytic lesions can occur in many other parts of the body where implants have been implanted, e.g. humerus, tibial plateau, distal femur, and acetabulum. Accordingly, the need to treat osteolytic bone lesions after joint replacement surgery is a widespread problem.